Africa’s hospitality sector is entering a new growth phase, with hotel construction accelerating across the continent as tourism, business travel, and urban development continue to expand.
According to the Hotel Chain Development Pipelines in Africa 2026 report by W Hospitality Group, the continent’s top hotel development markets account for 504 hotel projects with a combined pipeline of 97,878 rooms. Of this total, 54,742 rooms, representing about 56% of the pipeline, are already under construction.
The renewed construction momentum is underpinned by improving travel demand in Africa’s tourism economy.
- Egypt – 45,984 rooms across 185 hotels
- Morocco – 10,606 rooms across 75 hotels
- Nigeria – 8,480 rooms across 57 hotels
- Kenya – 6,190 rooms across 35 hotels
- Ethiopia – 5,964 rooms across 34 hotels
- Cape Verde – 4,328 rooms across 17 hotels
- Tunisia – 4,189 rooms across 15 hotels
- Tanzania – 4,159 rooms across 29 hotels
- South Africa – 4,136 rooms across 31 hotels
- Ghana – 3,942 rooms across 26 hotels
Egypt dominates Africa’s hotel development pipeline with more than one-third of all planned rooms and over four times the number in second-placed Morocco, reflecting large-scale tourism investment and sustained hotel signings across the country. East Africa also shows strong construction momentum, with Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania recording the highest share of rooms already under construction, indicating faster project execution in that region.
Source: Nairametrics
